Beira lays out its ambitions

While Beira is a modestly-sized facility, it does have a number of strength, according to Rui Sahia Massuangonho, sales and marketing officer for operator Cornedeler de Mocambique.

He told Intermodal Africa that the capacity goal for Beira is 1m teu by 2055.

“Last year we did 211,000 teu,” he said, adding that this year’s total is “slightly down” because the drought in the region had hit exports. Beira also moved 2.6m tonnes of general cargo and close to 5m tonnes of coal.

Much of Beira’s pitch is that it is best positioned port to serve landlocked countries in Southern Africa such as Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi, as it is closer than larger and better developed ports such as Durban.

Supporting this are its rail links in the Machipanda and Sena lines which serve Zimbabwe and the Moatize coal fields respectively.